Review of The Graduate (1967) by Gene I B — 16 Sep 2015

â??This is Benjamin. Heâ??s a little worried about his future.â??

No matter what age you are in life, this would have been a sentiment plaguing your mind for the future is unpredictable. What happens when you finish studying? Are you going to start working immediately? Are you happy with that job? Or is this not the right future for me? What do I do? Mike Nicholsâ?? The Graduate may revolve around the uncertainty of graduating childhood, but boy does it get to grips with adulthood, as this film for many people is their first sexual fantasy. The Graduate decides to take that young man worried about his future, and transform that worry into pleasure as Benjamin sexually wanders into the Robinson family.

The Graduate tells the tale of a recent college graduate named Benjamin Braddock, who has no well-defined aim in life. This open ended storyline entitles the film to go down any road it desires for Benjamin needs to become enlightened to his lifeâ??s calling. The scriptâ??s ingenuity is that no one would have expected Benjamin to be seduced by a middle-aged, married woman named Mrs Robinson, and then proceed to fall in love with her daughter Elaine. The Graduateâ??s combination of a young manâ??s sexual and emotional escapades within the same family is bound to cause fireworks, for The Graduateâ??s reputation has stemmed from its dramatic sexualisation of a down-to-earth coming-of-age story.

Weirdly, The Graduate is considered one of the funniest American films of all time. I find it hard to consider The Graduate a comedy, as its sexually stimulated storyline appears more as a drama. It in no way can be considered a comedy because if you classify a post-studying-life crisis resulting in a sexual affair with a married, alcoholic woman, and then her child, then the comedy genre it seems knows no boundaries and can be anything. The Graduate may force a giggle on a few occasions but the film features far more of other genres to be classified as a comedy. It is more of a combination of eroticism and drama, or better yet an erotic drama that shows Fifty Shades of Grey how to be sexual, yet meaningful in its depictions. From the inceptive seduction of Benjamin at Mrs Robinsonâ??s home, to their inhabitation of hotel after hotel, this sexual affair is your typical affair in todayâ??s world, but back then this was adulterously spicy, and that is the essence of what made The Graduate so special. The famous scene where Bancroft places just her leg in the shot and puts on tights ever so sensually with a hapless Hoffman in the background aroused into paralysis, just like anyone watching, is so masterfully executed. Benjamin then moves onto Elaine, but this relationship is far more emotional than salacious providing a layer of drama to the eroticism. But, like the sensuality, the matriarch of the Robinsons pretty much causes drama whenever she is on screen. Without Mrs Robinson, Iâ??m afraid The Graduate would lose all its charm for her personality is histrionic, her age difference to Benjaminâ??s is scandalous and the way she develops from the seductive temptress into a Havisham-like brute has melodrama written all over it!

Anne Bancroft portrays the famous Mrs Robinson with such gravitas that The Graduate belongs to her. She will literally blow you away by her authoritative stubbornness and sexual prowess, which never fails to get her what she wants. She has such a powerfully resplendent aura that her performance fits the symbol of a middle-aged cougar so impressively. The lack of a first name shoots Mrs Robinsonâ??s appeal sky-high for her mysteriousness makes her seductively alluring. Dustin Hoffman stars as Benjamin Braddock, marking his first foray into acting. Braddock is such a creepy character as he for the first hour is almost paralysed in the same position, facially and physically. Hoffman captures the character so well because he has that underdog charisma to pull off being silently innocent for most of the film. He is so visibly discontent with life that Hoffmanâ??s awkwardly numb face fits the profile so well. Katharine Ross is Elaine Robinson, Benjaminâ??s love interest. Ross may be the daughter in the family, and only nine years younger than Bancroft, but boy does Bancroft out-sex her daughter and become the fascination of many men.

These three actors are lucky, lucky people, for the amount of past and future Hollywood legends that were considered for or who wanted the roles is ridiculous. For the part of Mrs Robinson, names ranged from Joan Crawford, Lauren Bacall, Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth and Judy Garland, whilst for Benjamin, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall and Jack Nicholson were considered. The buck of names didnâ??t stop there as Faye Dunaway, Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field and Jane Fonda were considered for Elaine. The shock is that some of these actors rejected the role, and some were so desperate to play a part that Ava Gardner called Nichols asking about the film. This goes to show how intriguing the characters were to Hollywood, and although some of the final choices are debatable, the characters are what remain fantastic.

The Graduate is creatively endowed as it drifts away from the notion of a coming-of-age story, thanks to its storylineâ??s cleverness in making adulthood such a fun and exciting lifestyle where the only worry seems to be finding a woman to love. Just like Benjamin is drifting through life not knowing exactly what he is meant to be doing, the camera almost doesnâ??t seem to know what to be doing, as it never interferes with the proceedings; it remains subjective and drifts ever so slowly through scenes. This works a treat as it amplifies the foreboding eroticism in order to intensify your fantasies, but this can also make The Graduate sort of undergraduate in intelligence, as it works to satisfy the story not the audienceâ??s interest. The Graduate can seriously be slow paced as Simon & Garfunkelâ??s hypnotic soundtrack including songs such as â??The Sound of Silenceâ?? provides a deliberate sluggishness to represent the unravelling of Benjaminâ??s purposeless life. But this doesnâ??t put you off as this coming-of-age-through-sexual-adventures saga is just too intriguing. Hollywood was also facing restrictions as to what can possibly be shown on film in 1967, but The Graduate almost matured cinema as it did Benjamin.

The Academy Awards took this film seriously, proving again it is not a comedy, as it, despite winning only for Best Director, was nominated for Best Picture and three acting categories. It baffles me as to why Anne Bancroft did not win, but then again Katharine Hepburn, who won, is the most heavily awarded actor ever.

The Verdict:

A salacious adventure that has melodramatically marked its place in cinematic history, for its coming-of-age story remains so effective almost half a century later. And that is predominantly Mrs Robinsonâ??s doing.

â??â??â??â??â??â??â??â??â??â?? 8/10.